RePEPE, a high-speed network over IPv6

04/07/2022

Vectra Consultoria e Serviços and the Agência Estadual de Tecnologia da Informação (Brazil) were awarded in the last edition of the IPv6 Challenge, for their project to develop RePEPE, the Pernambuco Research and Education Network.

RePEPE is Brazil’s first state-owned and high-speed network for education and research purposes.

Carlos Gustavo Santos, Wesley Melo and José Rangel are part of the LACNIC team, in charge of promoting the expansion of IPv6 through RePEPE.

“We are working together (Vectra Consultoria e Serviços and the Agência Estadual de Tecnologia da Informação) to build an IPv6-only network,” Melo said.

The network was conceived with the purpose of providing Internet for end-users, most of whom are public or educational agents. The goal of this network is to reach one hundred thousand users. Nowadays, there are already three thousand state locations with only IPv6 connectivity.

Vision for the future. The State of Pernambuco operates another network -PE Conectados – that runs IPv4 and IPv6. However, RePEPE was implemented to provide a high-speed network running only IPv6, said Melo.

“We are able to provide greater speed than PE Conectados. This is why the Agência Estadual de Tecnologia da Informação decided that this new network should be based on IPv6”, said Rangel.

“This project allows users to migrate from an IPv4 network (PE Conectados) to an IPv6-only network (RePEPE),” said Melo.

Implementing an IPv6 network was a big challenge for both Vectra Consultoria e Serviços and the Agência Estadual de Tecnologia da Informação.

This development added experience to the team and helped to overcome challenges along the way, as many theoretical approaches turned out to be different in practice.

Other eyes. In relation to the IPv6 Challenge, RePEPE’s promoters emphasized that this challenge encourages organizations to improve and that it also is excellent international recognition for the professionals who work on these projects.

In this sense, Melo considered that the vision for the future that drove them to build RePEPE was validated by other eyes.

“We were questioned for having this vision. “Are you going to implement an IPv6-only network? It’s not going to work,” they would say. Therefore, upon receiving this recognition, we feel validated. This recognition shows us respect,” said Melo.

Model. RePEPE’s promoters believe that this network, a pioneer in the State of Pernambuco, will encourage other institutions to follow this path. “I am certain that it will be the benchmark for many other projects. We had to pave the way for others to follow”, said the expert.